Sure I wrote for a few newspapers, and finished a collection of short stories to fulfill my thesis requirement, but did that make me a professional writer?

And as a runner, I had finished one marathon, a couple of 5k races and a five-miler. But was I a runner?

These doubts might seem like a minor connection, but there was definitely something there. Looking back on it now, I see it.

My running life put discipline in my writing life, while my writing life made me a disciplined runner.

Simple.

During my time training for the 2008 Los Angeles Marathon, more than anything else, I was disciplined.

I woke up everyday before the sun rose.

Not only that, but I made myself breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Jack in the Box, KFC, McDonalds all removed from my menu.

Each night after work, I went home and wrote and edited my thesis. Some nights I did better than others, but like increasing my mileage, I started increasing my page count.

Then I ran the marathon and turned in my thesis.

I celebrated a bit too much after each.

I had about a week of post-thesis celebratory meals. My first one at Red Robin by myself.

My first post-marathon meal was a plate full of Wingstop wings and fries.

And that was that..

Little writing. Some running, but eventually none.

Now I’m undisciplined. I write sparingly. I never cook. To run is pain.

I have a series of starts and meaning to starts, but nothing sustained. I’ve set myself a schedule, but I don’t work well with schedules.

Not only that, but every rejection letter to short story submissions I receive makes me ask the question, “Why am I doing this?”

That question pops up in my running as well.

“Why am I doing this 3-mile run? Why am I suffering through these shin splints and swelling knees? Why am I embarrassing myself wearing a sleeveless workout shirt when my muscles are long gone?”

Maybe I should sign up for another marathon, and work on a Ph.D. in English.

Motivation, you know?

OK, maybe not.

But hopefully I can concentrate on moving forward a day at a time. One foot in front of the other. One word after another.

Instill discipline, you know?

Here are some changes since I last blogged on here:

1. My weight – Then: 190. Now: 205.

2. My training – Then: 20 miles/week. Now: 12 miles per week.

3. Biking to work – Then: At least three times/week. Now: Not once in the last month.

4. My blogging consistency – At least twice per week. Now: My first in months.

What does this mean? I need to come back strong. But that’s OK. My blog is better when I actually have to start accomplishing and changing something. And that’s what I plan on doing.

By the way, Obama will be really good for the United States… just my thoughts.

In the next five years, I want to be nearly 90 percent car free. I want to fill up my tank at most once per month. Now, there’s no easy way to do this living in the Greater Los Angeles area, but it’s definitely getting easier. Here’s how I plan on accomplishing this:

1. Continue riding my Trek 7.2 bike on trips that are less than five miles one way.

2. Buy a commuter scooter like a Vespa LX, a Piaggio BV500, or one of Honda’s commuter scooters for trips to the grocery store, or those trips to softball practices and places just a little too far to ride my bike to.

3. Buy an inexpensive, light, fuel-efficient car like the Toyota Yaris or one of those plug-in hybrids that will definitely be more than rumor in a few years or even a Smart car.  After riding my bike so much, I’ve come to the conclusion that size, pickup speed and all those extra immenities are unnecessary. For long trips, all I need is a car that can get 40 miles per gallon highway and can easily store my bike in the trunk. In fact, the need for size and speed and pickup and so-called “comfort” is merely an American thing. The point of a car is to get someone from point A to point B as quickly and cheaply as possible.

4. Take more public transportation. I rarely have a need to take the Metrolink Trains anymore. I used to take them to work everyday when I worked at USC. But in the near future, it’ll probably make a lot of sense for me to take the Metrolink on trips to Hollywood (via Union Station). Or, if all goes as planned, I might even be able to take the Metrolink to Union Station to Santa Monica beach.

Maybe this is a phase I’m going through, I sure hope not, but I really believe that travelling without using a car is the way most people will prefer to travel in upcoming years.

Is this right? Not at all. It illustrates the dog-eat-dog world that we live in. People pick on the people that they are capable of picking on. America needs to promote mutual respect for those on the road.

The author of the study said cardiovascular exercise is key.

“If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise,” he said in the study’s press release.

The study disspells the myth that long-time runners suffer from some serious health effects, especially worn-down knees and joints.

In a Time Magazine article about the study, researchers said the benefits include “improved aerobic capacity, better cardiovascular fitness, increased bone mass, fewer inflammatory markers, less physical disability, better response to vaccinations and even improved thinking, learning and memory. They also lived significantly longer.”

Allergies and sinus infections pose serious impediments to runners’ routines. Compound that by running in an urban environment with car-exhaust fumes poisoning most of the air and a runner will really struggle to run the serious long miles.

So I took a trip to the doctor’s office. She prescribed the usual for allergy sufferers: a strong decongestant, a nose spray steroid like Nasaral or Nasonex, and a recommendation to buy an over-the-counter antihistamine like Claritin or Zyrtec. It’s also important that a doctor prescribe some type of antibiotic to fight the infection.

A week later, I feel way better than I did even before I woke up unable to breathe.

Commuters across the U.S. are responding to high gasoline prices by finding alternatives to driving. But in Los Angeles, it takes a special kind of road warrior to hop on a bike in the name of saving the planet and a little money.

The city is notoriously short on bike lanes, bike paths and bike racks. Bicycles are illegal on the freeways, and city streets are packed with motorists who seem increasingly cranky about the swelling ranks of cyclists. Every cyclist seems to know somebody who has been injured or who has survived a near-death experience. In 2006, 28 people in Los Angeles County were killed on bikes, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. Geography makes things difficult, too, as the distance from home to work in this sprawling metropolis can be immense and necessitate adding public transportation to the journey.

Tensions between cyclists and motorists here have become dangerously combative. Los Angeles police are investigating an apparent July 4 road-rage incident that sent two cyclists to the hospital with serious injuries. The cyclists crashed into a car after its driver allegedly slammed on his brakes in front of them on Mandeville Canyon Road, a winding street through a hilly neighborhood.

“Cyclists have equal rights, but in fact a lot of motorists think they should get off the road,” says Lynne Goldsmith, manager of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority’s bike program. Nearly everyone has a bike sitting in the garage, but people are starting to actually use their bicycles for transportation, ranging from short hops to the market to long-distance commuting, she says. “When we’re used to seeing more cyclists, we will treat them better.”

Hopefully city planners will take into account the fact that more people are trying to get out of their cars.

I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and rode the 2 miles to the local 24 Hour Fitness. I lifted weights and then rode home. At 6:10, I took my dog on a light 20-minute, 2.4-mile jog around the neighborhood, came home and showered and rode the 2.5 miles to work.

Today was the last day of school, so it was finals, clean up, and then checkout.

Then I rode 4 miles to my credit union’s ATM machine in order to deposit my paycheck. Then I rode the 6 miles home.

I took a nap.

I woke up a few hours later, rode 1.5 miles to the local high school and ran 3.25 miles. Then I ate, rode to my girlfriend’s and just arrived home.

In total, I ran 4.75 miles, and rode close to 20 miles today. I’m pretty spent. Throw in some swimming and I’ll be ready for a triathalon… actually, not until I can afford this bike:

My future triathalon bike

Here’s the schedule I have planned for her:

Week 1 (July 28-August 3):
Monday: 2 miles (easy)
Tuesday: 2 miles (easy)+gym
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 25 minutes (5-minute warmup and four one-minute surges every five minutes and 5-minute cool down)+gym
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off (this week)
Sunday: 3 miles+gym

Week 2 (August 4-10)
Monday: 2 miles (easy)
Tuesday: 2 miles (easy)+gym
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 25 minutes (5-minute warmup, 200-meter sprints/200-meter rest+5 minute cool down)+gym
Friday: Off
Saturday: 4 miles
Sunday: gym

Week 3 (August 11-17)
Monday: 2 miles (easy)
Tuesday: 30 minutes (easy)+gym
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 30 minutes (Nike+ treadmill workout)+gym (SET YOUR ALARM!)
Friday: Off
Saturday: 5 miles+gym
Sunday: Hawaii!

Week 4 (August 18-24) – in Hawaii
Monday: 2 miles (easy)
Tuesday: 3 miles (easy)+gym
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 30 minutes (Nike+ outdoors workout)+gym
Friday: Off
Saturday: 5 miles (along the beach)
Sunday: Go home!

Week 5 (August 25-August 31) – Back home
Monday: 2 miles (easy)
Tuesday: 2 miles (easy)+gym
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 30 minutes (5-minute warmup, 200-meter sprints/200-meter rest+5 minute cool down)+gym
Friday:  20 minutes (5-minutes easy, 10 minutes race pace, 5-minutes easy)
Saturday: Off (Pasta Dinner!)
Sunday: Race Day!

Am I too harsh?

Yes, right now, me riding a bike is an anomoly. I’m the only one at my job that bikes daily. Most of that is due to the distance people live from here. But my guess is that biking will become less unique as years go by and we’ll see 10 percent or more of workers deciding to bypass their cars and going with their bikes.

This Chicago Sun-Times column discusses the growing trend:

In the land of the cul-de-sac and the three-car garage, a two-wheeled revolution has begun.

Suburbanites are riding their bicycles not just for recreation, but for transportation. And suburbs are responding with more bike racks, trails and designated bike lanes.

“I’ve seen it become not-so-fringe over the last couple of years,” said Pamela Brookstein, west suburban coordinator for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. She said bike racks at suburban Metra stations are filling up as more people bike to the train.

“It’s dramatic,” agreed Norbert Budde, the federation’s north suburban coordinator. He counted 20 bikes on a short trip to Evanston City Hall last week — some were “cyclists” in spandex, but most were workers in business casual and moms with baby trailers “just going somewhere.”

The most common suburban uses for bicycles are riding on trails or riding to the train station for the commute into the city. But more commuters also want to take bikes on the train, so they can use them when they reach their destination.

Metra, which allows bikes during non-peak hours, saw 4,899 bikes on trains in April, almost double its previous peak in October 2007.